The police have taken the younger brother of King Charles III, former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, into custody over allegations that he divulged British trade secrets to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his tenure as trade envoy to the U.S.

A statement from Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrest on Thursday, without mentioning his name in line with British rules, but the description matched that of the former prince, whom police were seen at his Sandringham residence early Thursday.

The former prince turned 66 on Thursday.

“As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk,” the statement said.  “The man remains in police custody at this time.”

Last year, the monarchy stripped Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal title over his salacious affiliation with Mr Epstein, and he was evicted from his royal mansion.

The arrest came in light of the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department on January 30, which showed the ex-prince continued correspondence with the pedophile despite statements saying otherwise.

The former prince claimed he cut ties with Mr Epstein after he was first convicted of sexual crimes.

“Nobody is above the law,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC Thursday morning.

One of Mr Epstein’s victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said the sex offender introduced her to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor in 2001 and that the former prince raped her multiple times, even though she was a teenager at the time.

The former prince denied wrongdoing but eventually paid Ms Giuffre in a settlement in 2022, three years before she died by suicide in April 2025.